Mason Gillis puts the buzz back in New Castle basketball

New Castle Trojans junior Mason Gillis and head coach Daniel Cox talk about how Gillis fits into this team's chemistry and the IHSAA program's tradition at New Castle Fieldhouse in Indiana, Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2018.
Jenna Watson/IndyStar

New Castle Trojans junior Mason Gillis poses in the tunnel leading to the court at New Castle Fieldhouse. Gillis is a standout on the team, which is ranked first in class 3A.(Photo: Jenna Watson/IndyStar)

NEW CASTLE – There is magic here in the world’s largest high school fieldhouse, even on a day when the 9,000-plus capacity gym is empty.

Through the tunnel on the north end of the court, up two flights of stairs and around the corner is coach Daniel Cox’s office. Cox played here in the mid-2000s as a standout 3-point shooter for coach Steve Bennett. When Bennett retired in 2013, Cox returned to New Castle and moved on to a street named after Cecil Tague, who coached Mr. Basketball Kent Benson and led the Trojans to final fours in 1967 and 1971.

On one of the green-painted walls in Cox’s office is an old street sign proclaiming New Castle as the “Home of Steve Alford,” the 1983 Mr. Basketball, Indiana star and Olympian. Cox found the sign sitting in a closet after he was hired and hung it up.

But this old fieldhouse is not merely a museum of the glory days. It is alive again. Sitting on a couch in Cox’s office, across from the Alford street sign, is a big reason one of the state’s treasured programs is again one of its most powerful.

“He’s a special player and a unique guy,” Cox said. “His commitment level is what makes it easy. He’s a guy you almost have to pull back at times because he’s all the time, ‘Go, go, go.’”

Mason Gillis might be the most well-known person in New Castle. People in this community of 17,500 often stop him to talk basketball, baseball or ask him when he is going to reconsider and come out for the football team. Early-morning walkers circling the track above the bleachers in the fieldhouse often look down to the court to see him getting in a workout before school. Or after school. Or late at night after practice.

“Everybody knows everybody here,” Gillis said. “You can’t get in trouble or everybody knows about it. You have to be aware of what you are doing. But I like being able to know everybody. I like those relationships.”

Mason Gillis and New Castle basketball is a relationship that is just beginning to blossom.

Gillis admits he was fortunate to grow up in the shadow of his sister, Lauryn Gillis. He watched first-hand the sacrifice and time it took for Lauryn to become an elite volleyball player, earning Indiana Gatorade Player of the Year among her many honors.

“Mason learned from her work ethic,” said their mother, Tammy McCall. “She didn’t go to a single prom, maybe one fall dance. She went from volleyball to basketball and made those late trips to Munciana (her club volleyball program based in Yorktown). Mason watched how she handled things, whether it was practicing or communicating with people. He saw that goals could be realized with hard work.”

Lauryn Gillis’ volleyball stardom took her to her dream school, Southern Cal, before she decided to transfer to Wisconsin. The 6-1 Gillis finished her college career last fall after helping the traditional power to two NCAA tournament Sweet 16 appearances and one Elite Eight.

“When I was growing up, I remember asking my mom where my sister was at and she’d say, ‘In the gym,’” Mason said. “I watched her work that much and instilled that work ethic in me. She’s definitely a mentor to me. We talk about different things, like being personable with people and how to treat people, or how to act on the floor. She’s done a lot for me and it means a lot to me.”

Athleticism runs in the family. Gillis’ father, Bill Gillis, was a 6-7 standout at North Central, where he graduated in 1988. He went on to play at Ball State, where he averaged 10.2 points and 6.6 rebounds on a 26-win NCAA tournament team in 1992-93. Tammy, a Blue River graduate, was a member of Ball State’s cross country team.

But basketball was not always the No. 1 sport for Mason.

“It wasn’t always fun for him,” Tammy said. “He was the big kid so he was always stuck under the basket. He was hung on to, clawed on. He’d leave a fifth-grade tournament with scratches all over him and he’d sneeze on somebody and get a foul call. That wasn’t fun for him. So he was more drawn to baseball.”

Mason excelled at baseball. Remember the 2012 New Castle team that reached the Little League World Series? Mason was the youngest player on that team. It was his bases-loaded single to left field in the Great Lakes Region final that sent New Castle past Kentucky 6-5 and on to Williamsport, Pa.

That's a younger Mason Gillis (left), and teammate Janson Anderson riding in a parade in 2012 to honor the New Castle Little League team, which represented the Great Lakes Region at the Little League World Series.(Photo: Robert Scheer/IndyStar)

“It’s hard describe the bond that was built over that summer playing that whole summer with my friends,” Mason said. “It was a once-in-a-lifetime deal.”

Gillis was a three-sport standout through middle school, playing baseball, football and basketball. He gave up football but has continued with baseball, splitting time in the summer between travel basketball and the Indiana Bulls baseball program. Gills, a center fielder, hit three home runs as a sophomore for New Castle.

In the past year, however, Gillis’ love of basketball has taken root. He’s not the big kid stuck under the basket anymore. He is 6-6 but can face up and put the ball on the floor and shoot from the outside. Tammy is often in the gym with him, rebounding and passing as Mason moves to different spots on the court.

“He’s put a lot of time into it and he’s starting to reap the benefits,” Cox said. “He’s a winner, through his work ethic and demeanor and attitude.”

Colleges have taken notice, too. Gillis was offered by IUPUI, Miami (Ohio) and Toledo before picking up his first high-major offer from Butler – which has tapped into the New Castle pipeline for years – in October. Purdue followed with an offer in early January.

“I think more schools have noticed the player I am and person I am,” Gillis said.

Several other high-major programs are interested, including Indiana. His mother joked that on a recent visit to Bloomington, several fans stopped Mason to get a photo with him.

“Except they thought he was Romeo Langford,” she said with a laugh.

But the word is definitely getting out on Gillis and this New Castle team.

***

New Castle Trojans forward Mason Gillis (32) warms up before the Trojans took on the Carmel Greyhounds at Carmel High School, Carmel, Ind., Saturday, Jan. 27, 2018.(Photo: Jenna Watson/IndyStar)

It does not take long to see what makes this New Castle team special. Gillis is a special talent. He averages 19.9 points and 12.6 rebounds and shoots 59 percent from the field.

But it is far from a one-man team. Luke Bumbalough, a 6-foot junior guard, is a Division I talent in his own right. Bumbalough, also a star receiver on the football team, averages 20.5 points, 5.6 assists and shoots 49 percent from the 3-point line. Niah Williamson, the quarterback on the football team, averages 11.0 points.

The Trojans play a fun style, relying heavily on the 3-pointer (and shooting 40 percent from the arc as a team). There is an undeniable chemistry that comes from playing together for years, as this team has. New Castle, which won the Hall of Fame Classic on its home floor, is 16-1 and ranked No. 1 in Class 3A with its only loss coming on a 61-59 buzzer-beater Saturday at Carmel. Locals are buzzing that this team could be the program's third state champion (New Castle won in 1932 and a Class 3A title in 2006).

“We can all shoot the ball so we can spread the floor and drive the lane,” Bumbalough said. “We all grew up playing together so we have good chemistry, which I think is what makes us a good team.”

When Cox came back to New Castle in 2013, he was a physical education teacher at the middle school. Gillis was a seventh grader.

“We knew that seventh grade class was pretty special,” Cox said.

Expectations are high again at New Castle. There is an energy – a buzz – that surrounds a program on the verge something special.

“Expectations are what you want,” Cox said. “You want people to count on you and expect big things. They are a goofy bunch. They like to goof around. But when it’s time to get to work, they get to work.”

A few minutes after Cox says those words, he leaves his office, walks down the two flights of stairs and heads down the tunnel that leads to the court in the world’s largest high school fieldhouse. Practice has started without him. At the sight of their coach, the Trojans stop and give him an ovation. Cox can’t suppress a smile. He waves.